Pepsi and Coca-Cola India have been asked to depose before the joint parliamentary committee probing pesticide allegations in beverages on December 16 and 17 respectively, even as the panel blamed water authorities for the poor quality of ground water available at present.

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The JPC, which held another meeting on Tuesday, has asked both Pepsi and Coke to depose before it in separate letters sent to each company, sources said in New Delhi.

Among those who made presentations before JPC last month included Central Ground Water Board, Ground Water Authority and secretary, Water Resources.

During their various presentations, these government bodies are believed to have told the JPC that they were not authorised to test ground water quality but were only there to monitor its quantity.

"They all said the same thing...that they have no mandate to check ground water quality, saying water was a state subject. This, despite the fact that there are as many as 15,000 monitoring stations for ground water," they added.

In its presentation before the JPC, the Centre is believed to have expressed its inability to check ground water quality, citing multiplicity of agencies which handle water issues.